HEALTH Minister Mike Nesbitt says he is committed to to addressing health inequalities after visiting a new pilot health programme in West Belfast.
The Minister was speaking at Cullingtree Fold on the Falls Road about the Department of Health's new Live Better programme.
The 12-week mentoring programme by the Department is led by West Belfast Partnership Board in partnership with Greater Shankill Partnership Connected Community Care, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Public Health Agency and other primary care and community health and wellbeing centres.
Mike Nesbitt during his visit to Cullingtree Fold
All about connecting isolated older people, the Live Better programme at Cullingtree Fold, brought a health fair to the residents, with health checks for blood pressure and cholesterol, while there was even a barber on hand.
Other focuses of the Live Better programme include childhood vaccinations, smoking in pregnancy, cancer screening, children's oral health and frailty and falls prevention.
The community-centred approach focuses on addressing health inequalities and improving health outcomes, with the pilot programme targeting two of the highest areas of deprivation in the North – Court DEA (Lower Shankill, Lower Falls and Grosvenor Road) in West Belfast and Moor District DEA (Fountain, Bogside, Brandywell and Creggan) in Derry.
Speaking to the Andersonstown News, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: "The Live Better campaign came about after looking at inequalities in health. I had no idea how bad things were.
"If two girls were born in the Royal Victoria Hospital today, each growing up in separate areas of deprivation, the difference in their healthy life expectancy is 14.1 years which is shocking for me.
"There is clear evidence that the closer you get health care delivery to people’s front door the better.
"We want to shift the focus to prevention and early intervention to take the pressure off the hospitals.
"I will judge everything I do as Health Minister by how I am delivering better outcomes for patients, service users and the healthcare workers."
